East Ohio Building, The
Also known as: THe Tishman Building
Why it's listed
Rising 21 stories above East 9th Street in downtown Cleveland, this office tower was built for the East Ohio Gas Company and occupied in 1959. New York firm Emery Roth and Sons designed it in the International Style for Tishman Realty and Construction. The exterior combines black granite at street level with an aluminum and glass curtain wall above, and a concrete structural grid shows through the facade. An attached garage of about 522 spaces was the first of its kind downtown. Builders used cast-in-place reinforced concrete and finished the superstructure in six months, a local record. The most important interiors are on the first floor: the main lobby, the East Ohio Gas Payment Center with its teller stations and travertine floor, and the Gas Light Theater with its terrazzo reflecting pool, wood paneling and scalloped plaster ceiling. The building is recognized for its commercial history, architecture and engineering, and it is currently vacant.
Significance in brief: The nomination cites significance in Commerce, Architecture and Engineering for the period 1958-1963. It was the headquarters of the East Ohio Gas Company and included the first attached parking garage in downtown Cleveland. Its cast-in-place concrete superstructure was completed in six months, a record for the city at that time.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 12001212, listed January 23, 2013. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | 1717 E. 9th St., Cleveland |
|---|---|
| County | Cuyahoga County |
| Listed | January 23, 2013 |
| Reference number | 12001212 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1958-1963 |
| Architect / builder | Emery Roth and Sons (architects); The Tishman Realty and Construction Group |
| Architectural style | Modern Movement: International Style |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Commerce, Architecture, Engineering |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | The building is currently vacant; upper floors have been emptied and the first-floor commercial and gas payment spaces are vacated. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Within district | Euclid Avenue Historic District |
| Coordinates | 41.50226, -81.68778 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
For an income-producing building, listing (individually or as a contributing building in a district) is the gateway to the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit on qualified rehabilitation costs, often stackable with state credits. Work claiming the credit must follow the Secretary of the Interior's Standards and be approved in advance.
Listing does not restrict a private owner acting without federal money or permits; where federal funding or licensing is involved, Section 106 review applies.
Noted as vacant in the nomination. Nomination documents can be decades old; current status may differ. If you are considering buying an empty listed property, read the due-diligence checklist.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 12001212.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q4552487
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.